The City of Baldwin and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) have agreed to close the connecting road between Sunrise Ridge and the U.S. Highway 441 bypass. The road, with no formal name, was closed on Thursday due to illegal dumping.
Scott Barnhart, Baldwin Public Works Director, said that residents of Sunrise Ridge reported the excessive dumping at the site.
“People have been going through there dumping mattresses, tires, furniture. I mean, we hauled off three dump truck loads of trash one day,” Barnhart said. “Couches, chairs, tables, you name it. Just dumping trash down there non-stop. Then you have people even dropping off animals down there, alive and dead.”
Chief Administrative Officer Emily Woodmaster said she discussed the road closure with Barnhart. Barnhart then approached the Georgia Department of Transportation.
“(GDOT) thought it was in their best interest,” Woodmaster said. “Anyone that needs to have access to that area, whether it is GDOT themselves or the power company, they will have a key to get in. If city residents want to go out there and pick up any of the clippings, they’re welcome to do that. They just need to call and set up an appointment time for us to go out there. There was just a lot of littering, and it wouldn’t stop. We thought it was best to mitigate some of the hazards.”
There are no homes directly off of this connecting road.
“That throughway was mostly abandoned when they rerouted 441. It shouldn’t have any impact on any of the residents unless they were coming off of Sunrise Ridge and trying to go back. They would just have to go down to 441 and come around,” Woodmaster said.